UNCHARTED: Dreaded Tundra
by Z-Nitro
Summary: To find out about the truth behind the fated George Mallory and Andrew Irvine Expedition of 1924; Nathan Drake must test his strength, determination and willpower as he ascends towards the peak of Mount Everest ... but what secrets will he find within the depths of the tallest mountain in the world? - Set between Uncharted 2 and Uncharted 3.
1. London Rooftops

**March 18****th****, 1923**

George Mallory sat within an interview room, answering questions from a Reporter who worked for the _New York Times_ Newspaper. Since the beginning of the interview, Mallory showed off a formal yet proud posture as he sat opposite the Reporter, and confidently answered each question. He had made sure that upon first impressions, people knew he was fully confident in pursuing his upcoming expedition. Even so, he wore clothing that suited mountaineering rather than an interview. But with that aside, this Expedition had been most important to him the moment he and his climbing partner Andrew Irvine began the planning, due to the success of the Expedition would lead to the greatest achievement of man-kind. The Aim of this Expedition … was to be the First to Peak Mount Everest.

As each question continued to be asked, Mallory answered with concise yet well-thought answers, giving the correct impression that he knew what he had been doing and what he was talking about. But one particular question had been asked that allowed Mallory to answer with what was true to his mind; an answer that he'll never let go of.

"So, why climb Mount Everest." The Reporter queried, continuously jotting down notes as he asked.

Mallory gave out a small chuckle, feeling as though he had been waiting for this question for his whole life. He drew in a deep breath and answered with the upmost pride.

"… Because it's there."

_**87 years later…**_

Nathan Drake leapt into a strong, confident sprint with no plans on stopping for anybody. Sweat had been continuously streaming down his face, looking as though he had just jumped out of a pool of water in a rush. As he ran, a cheesy and cheeky grin was strapped across his face with the mind-set that this situation was all just a game to him. Bouncing roughly against his back was a slightly large, black rucksack strapped onto his right shoulder, his hand tightly clutching it as if refusing to let go. His whole body was covered in jet-black overalls; the same ones that he had worn in many previous heists before this. Nate had always found that they were easy to move around in and successfully allowed him to blend in with the dark surroundings. He ran down a large, open street that was surrounded with towering building on either side; street lights illuminating them in the dusk of midnight. Of course, this street was certainly not empty; commotions could be heard from every direction that seemed to be related to Nate's current situation. Nate hastily whipped his head with curiosity to check on his pursuers; large numbers of London's Metropolitan Police were swiftly on his tail, although seemingly dropping behind. In arrogance, Nate gave out a loud, snarky laugh and continued on with his escape. As he continued his escape, a dozen Police vehicles abruptly barricaded Nate's path in the distance, blocking his escape from the street. But Nate's mind process was far ahead in the game and knew that certain challenges would arise during the escape. He kept his sight on the vehicles in front, ready for anything that headed his way. Just then, more of London's Police swiftly leapt out of the vehicles, wearing tough body armour and holding both batons and riot shields, making it impossible for Nate to slip past.

… Or so they had thought.

Nate had still been running and smiling; even though he saw no chance on getting through head on, he swiftly decided to change his path and sped left towards the nearest building wall. He timed his jump perfectly and grasped onto one of the window ledges with firm grip. He knew he had no time to catch his breath and began to climb towards the rooftop. It had recently been raining and so ledges were fairly slippery to grasp onto; but the strong, rough material on the palm of his gloves helped Nate's grip to the point that it wasn't any difference from a normal climb. He climbed and climbed, refusing to give in to any strains in his body; he knew the police would have called in for more backup, especially helicopters, but that didn't let him hesitate. He finally grasped the top of the building and hoisted himself up with all the strength he had left. He rolled forward onto the textured surface and away from the edge of the building. He instantly transferred the rucksack off from his shoulder but still kept tough grip on the strap in his right hand. With that, he then laid flat on his back and began to catch he breath, gathering up his thoughts and figuring out the next step to his escape. Whilst doing so, he pressed the index finger of his free hand into his ear, pressing his earpiece so that he could clearly hear the communications.

"Now would be good time to bring around the Plane, Sully." Nate called out into the earpiece, completely breathless but still full of energy.

Suddenly, humming sounds began to echo around him, the surface below his body steadily increasing in vibration. Nate hastily leapt up to his feet, his eyes wide with sudden shock. In the distance, three large helicopters began to fly in closer towards Nate's position.  
"There are choppers on my tail, Sully! Now's not the time to be faffing about!" Nate Bellowed loudly into his earpiece, becoming increasingly desperate to escape the situation he had been in.  
Upon further inspection of his surrounding, Nate could see everything on the rooftop he stood on: Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye and the River Thames in the far off distance. But now was no time for him to be sightseeing. He hastily checked nearby rooftops to see if he could jump over without slipping up, but the rooftop he currently stood on seemed to be the only one flat-surfaced in the area.  
"FREEZE!" A loud, deep voice bellowed from behind Nate, causing him to give out a frustrating sigh.  
Nate turned around reluctantly and caught sight of the police blocking his only exit. They had reached the rooftop using the building's staircase, although had taken longer to reach the top due to checking every floor for his whereabouts. They were now blocking him with riot shields, stepping cautiously closer in hope of apprehending him. In Nate's eyes, the helicopters were closing in fast and Nate had no time for idle chat.  
"Good evening gents." Nate began to joke, holding his hands up. He let go of the rucksack and allowed it to fall back to his right shoulder. "Such a wonderful night we are having."  
"You are hereby under arrest for stealing valuable artefacts that belongs to the UK government." One of the police officers began to state. "Anything you say will be-"  
"Oh, give it a rest!" Nate suddenly interrupted, giving out a cheeky grin. "As you can plainly see; I've won!"  
Some of the police officers looked at each other with confused expressions, wondering what he was talking about.

"You've just been cornered on a rooftop by a large number of London's Police and there is no way out." Another officer argued, finding Nate's statement laughable. "Whatever you've been smoking, it certainly won't help you."  
Just then, Nate could then hear more rumbling sounds … but they weren't from the helicopters.  
"Ah! Well you say that but ... I am a man who doesn't believe in dead ends." Nate stated with a light, truthful tone of voice. "Then again, I did get caught in Istanbul once when I was double-crossed by a douchebag named Harry Flynn. But … he's dead now."  
The police began to shuffle closer to Nate, ready to take him down. Nate stepped back in retaliation, his feet on the edge of the rooftop. A few of the police gasped, thinking that Nate would have jumped off the building.

"Come quietly, and we won't have to use force." The first police officer stated cautiously, hoping not to have a suicide case.  
"I'm sorry mate but I simply just can't do that." Nate shook his head lightly, his hands dropping down and began to wave at them.  
Nate then idly stepped back and fell off the edge of the rooftop; the police hastily reacted, some bellowing "No!"  
The helicopters had been near enough and almost had him in their grasp. The police on the roof all ran to the edge where Nate fell from. Most of the police force gave off worried expressions, whilst others couldn't give a damn. Suddenly, a sea-plane shot passed with a rope ladder attached to the door. Next thing they noticed, Nate was holding onto the rope ladder with one hand and teasingly waving with the other. The police force glared on with dumbfounded expressions, unable to believe he had pulled off something so ridiculous. Nate then hastily climbed up the rope ladder towards the plane's door, the bag latched securely on his back. The door suddenly flew open the moment Nate touched the plane; he swiftly caught the edge of the plane's floor and heaved himself up.  
"Nice for you to drop by!" The pilot called out cheekily to Nate as he brought up the rope-ladder and shut the door.  
Nate quickly leapt to the front of the plane and sat in the co-pilot seat, taking off the rucksack and laying it tight on his lap.  
"The choppers are still after us, Sully. We'd best get out of London as soon as possible!" Nate then hastily told him, adrenaline still rushing through his body.  
"Don't worry about it. You should know this by now anyway: planes are always faster than helicopters!" Sully assured him, giving off a cool grin and a wink.  
"I don't mean now, I mean after we've gotten back to our hideout." Nate shook his head, but then chuckled due to something that popped up in his mind. "I can't wait to see my face all over BBC news by the morning."  
"Yep, I can't wait to see your 'lovely' mug." Sully chuckled back, but his smug did not last long. "Listen, Nate, you still haven't told me about your big plan or why you had to go on this ridiculous heist in the middle of London ... or anything at all! What in God's name are you trying to accomplish!?"  
"Fine, I'll tell you." Nate sighed frustratingly, readying himself to explain. "These artefacts are important to my plan and the heist had to be done as I couldn't exactly ask to borrow these things from the museum. Personally, this plan is something that I've always wanted to do for years."  
"Get to the point, Nate." Sully ushered him, becoming rather frustrated. "God damn it; every time you do something like this, we normally end up almost getting killed. And we've had WAY too many of those situations!"  
"Don't worry, this one is rather simple." Nate assured him, giving off his usual confident grin. "Trust me; it's going to be easy."  
"What the plan then?" Sully murmured.  
"We're going to climb Mount Everest." Nate stated out with enthusiasm.


	2. George Mallory and Andrew Irvine

"You want to climb Mount Everest!?" Sully bellowed out, slamming his hand onto the table. "Have you gone insane, Nate!? I'm not exactly goddamn 30 years old anymore!"

"I know that." Nate coolly spoke back, showing off a laid-back attitude, "And yet, that excuse never stopped others from climbing."  
Nate and Sully were now resting in a temporary hideout situated within a small apartment, set up in the middle of a small, isolated town north from London. Within the room, there were various maps, images, documents and drawings posted all over the walls; all of them relating to the current and completed plans. On the right wall was a large, spacious window that allowed full sunlight into the room, giving off a pleasant aura. An oak table stood towards the middle of the room with the black rucksack lying on top, yet to be opened. Nate sat down on one of the chairs facing the table and lifted up is legs in a resting position, showing off a lazy posture. Sully, on the other hand, stood up from his own chair on the opposite side of the table with his hand leaning on the flat surface, unable to hold back his frustration. It had been half of a day since the late-night heist and Nate seemed to still have full of energy coursing through his body, ready to investigate the contents of the bag. He now began to wear his usual attire consisting of a dirt-brown top, blue jeans and white sneakers.  
"Think about it though; we've done so many adventures recently." Nate enthusiastically assured him, eyes lit up with aspiration as he sat up from his lazy position. "Don't forget, we found El Dorado AND Shambhala! Climbing Mount Everest would be nothing compared to them!"  
"Hold on, Nate. Give that a rethink; I wasn't with you during the Shambhala pursuit. And I, you and Elena were all close to death at various points within the last 3 years!" Sully argued back, keeping a realistic and logical mind. "Besides, what exactly do you want to accomplish during this expedition? I know it isn't just to climb the mountain."

"Ah, you know me too well." Nate chuckled, giving a cheesy grin as he sat back on his chair. "Have you ever heard of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine's Expedition from 1924?"  
"The one where the two disappeared near the peak? Of course I have." Sully nodded, but began to feel both curious and wary.

Nave gave off a slight chuckle and speeded out on the table numerous files and news articles from research he had looked into from weeks ago.  
"Ever since their untimely deaths, there have been speculations whether or not those two actually were the first to peak Everest." Nate began to explain, hoping to reassure Sully with the research he gathered up. "When George Mallory's corpse was recovered in 1999, the photo of his wife was not in amongst his gear. Now looking back to interviews from before he took up the expedition with Andrew Irvine, he stated that he would place the photo on the peak of Mount Everest if he ever succeeded the ascent."  
"So let me guess; you think he made it up to the peak?" Sully wondered, although rolling his eyes.

"Yeah; in fact, I guarantee that the photo of his Wife is still up there." Nate confidently nodded in reply. "Not only that, but I bet Andrew Irvine's corpse is buried at the peak."  
"Sounds ... lovely." Sully shuddered, but then began to express his own thoughts. "Look, Nate; I admire your ongoing enthusiasm with climbing Everest but we have many loopholes with your plans. For starters; I'm not fit enough to climb all the way to the peak of Everest, and there are only two of us that are planning the trip. Also, we haven't got any of the right equipment set up; and more importantly, there have already been so many expeditions before us who tried to find the photo and Irvine's Body and have had no luck at all!"  
"But they DID find Mallory's corpse! Besides, all I want to do is to prove that they did reach the peak." Nate clarified with him, making sure to get his point across. "We have all the time in the world to prepare for this expedition, so we can order all the equipment and supplies we need. You don't have to tag along to reach the peak if you don't want to; you can stay behind at the final base camp."  
"But Nate, we have no money to fund the Expedition." Sully argued, various questions still forming in his mind.  
"That true …" Nate then began to think, only to immediately answer back with a small, cocky grin, "… but we do have Elena to help us out with all of this."  
"Oh wait, let me guess; you're going to try and convince her after what you just did?" Sully sarcastically asked, lowly chuckling. "Yeah, good luck with that."  
Just then, Nate's mobile phone rang loudly in his jean pocket. Both he and Sully glared at each other with competitive eyes, betting on who would be correct.  
"Ah, perfect timing." Nate stated confidently, taking out his phone from his pocket and clicking the answer button, "Hey gorgeous!"  
Sully crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, trying to hold back the frustration in his mind.  
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!?" Elena abruptly roared from the other side of the phone connection, causing Nate to literally leap out of his seat in fright.  
"Ah … so you heard about last night, did you?" Nate answered back somewhat cautiously.  
"What … the report of theft of various artefacts and a failed chase of up to 20 police officers!? Not only that, but the fact that this incident has cropped up all over newspapers, news channels and especially the internet!?" Elena answered back in anger. "Yeah, I heard about it!"  
"And … you assume it was me out of the 6 million people living in the UK?" Nate then cheekily asked, although being wary not to light a fuse with her.  
"Well you do seem very casual about it," Elena then reacted, finding his attitude unbelievable. "… And I don't see anybody else's face on the images and videos."  
Nate's sight suddenly shot towards Sully with worry. Sully, in turn, gave out a disapproving look back, wondering what Nate had actually expected.  
"Elena … I have my reasons for 'borrowing' the artefacts." Nate finally admitted with a sigh, scratching the back of his head whilst showing an awkward expression. "Don't worry; I'll give them all back when I'm finished with analysing them."  
"I don't think it would be as simple as just handing them back." Elena irritably argued back, but then decided to change to a more important question, "Nevertheless, why do you need to 'analyse' them?"  
"I can't tell you until you get back to the hideout." Nate told her truthfully, wary about anyone listening in on the conversation. "Where are you anyway?"  
"Funny thing is … I'm at the scene of the crime." Elena answered back, her tone of voice hinting she was grinning about it.  
"WHAT!?" Nate leapt up in shock, his light-hearted expression dropped completely to a worry. "Why are you there!?"  
"I have to assist with a news report on the incident." Elena began to explain, her voice beginning to show heightened aggression. "If my boss finds out that I'm in a relationship with the culprit of the burglary, we will both end up in a pile of shit!"  
"But you work for a TV programme, not the News!" Nate yelled, gritting his teeth.  
"I decided to take it up as a part time job whilst we stayed in England," Elena answered back, frustration clearly in her voice. "Even though it was something YOU should have thought about instead of me!"  
"But you know I'm not the working type!" Nate moaned, knowing all too well he and job work never mixed.  
"We all have to work Nate!" Elena shouted back, making her statement load and clear. "No wonder you're broke!"  
"I'm not ... that broke!" Nate argued back, albeit poorly due to Elena's words hitting the nail on the coffin.  
"(Sigh ...) Whatever … I'm almost done here, so I'll be back at the 'hideout' soon." Elena then told him, unable to bring herself with continuing the argument. "You better have a decent excuse on stealing those artefacts!"  
"I do, I do!" Nate innocently spoke back, giving out his most honest tone.  
"Right..." Elena groaned regretfully.  
She then hung up. Nate gazed dimly at his mobile hesitantly, and then slipped it back into his pocket. He turned back towards Sully, who had been showing off an amazed smirk after listening in to the whole conversation.  
"Great ... convincing her maybe harder than I first thought." Nate admitted to Sully, dipping his head back on the chair with a groan.  
"To be honest, I was expecting her too be like that." Sully told him, taking a seat on the opposite side of the table. "You're a treasure hunter, Nate, not a thief!"  
"But these are important to the expedition-!" Nate began to argue back, but Sully hastily put up a hand to hush him.  
"Then you need to prove their importance." Sully told him, his tone as serious as it could ever be. "Show me the artefacts."  
Nate hesitated for a moment, and then nodded to him. He instantly unzipped the rucksack and took out the contents from inside. Sully then realized that these items weren't at all artefacts ... but equipment. Nate began to take out some old, worn out thick clothing, an old compass, two pairs of goggles and a pickaxe. As each item of equipment was placed on the table, Sully's expression grew more and more confused.  
"This is more or less what I got before I was chased." Nate began to explain, making sure everything had been taken out of the bag. "All of this was found with George Mallory when his body was found."  
"OH GREAT!" Sully abruptly bellowed out, unable to hide his disgust, "Not only did you steel valuable objects from the goddam UK government but it's of things worn by a frozen dead guy from 1924! That has definitely made my day!"

"Give me a chance Sully!" Nate spoke back abruptly, hoping to get through to him as clearly as possible. "It may not look it, but these are all evidence from the 1924 expedition! Without these, many people would still believe they didn't make it to the peak!"  
"These aren't exactly things that would cause such a commotion though." Sully wondered with a confused tone.  
"I ... did make quite a scene during the heist." Nate admitted with embarrassment, turning his head away awkwardly.  
"Brilliant ... listen to me Nate: researchers have gone through everything on Mallory's equipment and it had just lead with more questions about what happened." Sully then began to explain, beginning to see how pointless the equipment had been.  
"I know that … but that is also why I took the equipment." Nate suddenly assured him, instantly turning around Sully's statement.  
"Wait … Please don't tell me you think they all missed something?" Sully then groaned, knowing what had been going through Nate's mind.  
"There is always something they missed, Sully." Nate stated confidently.  
"And you think you can find that missing piece so many researchers could not find?" Sully wondered in a groan.  
"There is always the possibility." Nate then answered in a simple statement.  
For the next hour, Nate and Sully had examined every piece of equipment they had in their procession; Nate went through the various clothing whilst Sully examined the goggles, compass and pickaxe.  
"There is the possibility that the photo had fallen out." Sully then spoke out to Nate, finding this examination getting them nowhere, "It could have been before he died, during his death or even sometime between his death and when his body was found."  
"No, all the pockets are in-tacked except for a few minor holes and I am completely sure that Mallory stored it in a fairly safe place." Nate confidently stated back, checking every part of the clothing.  
Suddenly, the door on the other side of the room swung open. Nate and Sully both leaped out of their skin by the sudden shock and hastily glared towards the direction of the sound. They instantly, and regretfully, noticed Elena enter the room, the expression on her face showing no amusement whatsoever.  
"So, all this was what you took?" Elena questioned with demand.  
"Yeah ..." Nate admitted cautiously, but then hesitantly stated. "…and I have a favour to ask you, Elena."  
Nate began to thoroughly explain to her about all of his plans for the upcoming expedition to Mount Everest and about his intentions to uncover the truth behind the George Mallory and Andrew Irvine Expedition from 1924. Elena kept silent and listened to him throughout his explanation. But, Nate knew she was completely angry with what he had done during the previous night.  
"So, what I want to ask you is ... would your TV show be willing to fund this expedition for me?" Nate pleaded, praying to God she would say yes.  
"Like Hell I'm going to do fund that! Not after what you did last night!" Elena yelled in detest. "Why don't you go ask another fool to fund it, I refuse to take part!"  
"But you're the only one I rely on for this." Nate hastily admitted to her, trying everything to change her mind.  
"Well then, maybe you remember the last time I funded for an expedition back when we searched for Sir Francis Drake's coffin!" Elena argued back, proving that she would not be swayed easily. "Let us not forget that we were attacked by pirates! And to add to that, we had no permit!"  
"That was ages ago!" Nate assured her with honesty. "You know I would make sure to thoroughly plan this time! I don't make cheap moves like that anymore!"  
"And yet you go and rob government property!" Elena roared back.

Just then, Sully stood up from his seat and abruptly slammed his hand against the table surface, causing both Elena and Nate to leap up in fright.  
"Elena, we will make sure this time that everything is planned correctly and large amounts of preparation are put in place." Sully butted in with a serious expression and tone, wishing for this argument to end before it got any worse.  
"How will I be sure that I can trust you two?" Elena then questioned cautiously, considering Sully's statement.  
"Because you wouldn't be in a relationship with Nate if you didn't trust him." Sully answered back, his eyes glaring with complete honesty.  
Elena turned and glared at Nate, who gave a nervous smile in return.  
"Fine, I'll fund the expedition. But you better keep your end of the bargain and plan everything thoroughly!" Elena warned them both, pointing a finger towards them.  
"I promise." Nate accepted instantly yet cautiously.  
Elena gave out a slight nod; she spun around and strode out the room, slamming the door behind her. There was a moment of silence in the room, both Nate and Sully gazing towards the door.  
"Why does Elena always have to be so tight with these things?" Nate moaned, breaking the silence.  
"To be fair, your ideas are normally dodgy." Sully admitted, crossing his arms. "Anyway, first of all, need an actual team for this expedition. We only have 3 people so far ... if Elena does decide to join us."  
"Don't worry too much about that, I know exactly the person who would help us." Nate assured him, sudden excitement appearing on his face.

The sudden change in emotion caught Sully off guard, causing a shocked glare to appear from his eyes.

Nate continued on, "He is an old friend of mine and he runs countless of expeditions!"

"Right … and who is this guy?" Sully queried, giving off a puzzled look.

"His name is Richard Tyler; I'm going to meet him in Scotland in a few days." Nate answered back, showing a determined grin.


	3. Trouble in Terminal 2

"You do realise you're paying petrol money for this, don't you?" Sully told Nate under his breath, keeping a low head.  
"Are you kidding me!?" Nate hastily whispered back, gritting his teeth tensely. "I've got enough to deal with as it is right now!"  
"Petrol isn't cheap these days, especially for planes!" Sully argued back while keeping his voice as low as possible. "And besides … it isn't even my plane."  
"I know that!" Nate spat out, speaking as quietly as he could. "I promise I'll pay it back right after the expedition."  
"Fine, you better keep to that." Sully warned him, a low glare piecing Nate's mind.  
"Tell me this though …" Nate tried as best as he could to keep his voice down but continued to grit his teeth during the process, feeling the need to speak out. "Why the hell did you hide the plane in Heathrow Airport!?"  
Nate and Sully were sitting on a bench outside the Entrance of Heathrow Airport's Terminal 2. The place was completely packed with tourists; who were dragging their suitcases, getting dropped off of various minibuses and coaches, and heading towards the desks inside the building. There were numerous families with children looking excited to see other parts of the world; business men and women constantly on their mobile phones; and couples completely attached to each other, all ready for their honeymoons or time away from their friends and families. Nate, to his own displeasure, had to keep himself covered up as best as he could ever since the incident in Central London a few days ago. And so he decided to dress as appropriate as he could for this occasion: he wore a new, fresh pair of jeans; dazzling white Reebok trainers/sneakers; a black T-shirt with a large Quicksilver design placed on; and an open, dark grey hoody with the hood completely over his head and almost completely covering his eyes. He had completely shaven off the rough-looking beard he had grown for the last few weeks in order to look younger and more in character. He also had his hands constantly in his hoody's large pockets whilst slouching low down and laid back as he possible could.

All in all ... he looked like a right thug.

Sully, on the other hand, decided to wear a completely light brown suit, with the addition of a plain white shirt, and including a wooden walking stick in which he had used the whole time during the day. However, he felt it was completely pointless to have. Due to Sully's new get up, Nate thought up a new nickname to irritate him with, and even Elena couldn't help but laugh at how much it suited his character: The Old Vic.  
"Do you know how easy it is for a worker or security guard to just come across the plane!?" Nate went on, beginning to feel slightly anxious about the situation.  
"I have a friend who works as a mechanic here, and he was happy for me to keep the plane in one of the hanger areas." Sully quietly began to explain. "I was also almost out of gas anyway and so he offered to top it up for me … as long as I paid for the costs. Oh, and just to add … it's his sea-plane to begin with."  
"Does he know about our 'incident'?" Nate tried to steer his words as he spoke, making sure he wouldn't give away obvious clues to anybody who could overhear them.  
"I know that he doesn't tend to watch the news, but he had definitely heard about the incident and that you had been the culprit." Sully began to assure him. "Thankfully he doesn't know that I and the sea-plane were involved."  
"Great, just what I need." Nate grumbled in frustration. "So why did you put on the Old Vic get up if he already knows who you are?"  
"Just in case anyone in the Terminal knew that I was involved with the incident." Sully murmured back.

"But wouldn't your 'friend' find it a bit odd?" Nate then wondered with a confused expression.

"Don't worry about that, I have a decent excuse." Sully smirked, a low chuckle escaping his breath.  
"Whatever you say … Old Vic." Nate sighed cheekily, a grin beginning to show across his face.  
"Will you stop calling me that!?" Sully complained, almost breaking his whisper due to the sudden anger.  
"What? It's only a nickname!" Nate shrugged playfully; showing that even though he is a marked man, he can still joke about at a time like this. "Heheh, or would you rather be called: 'Victor the Pensioner'?"  
"Just give it a rest, will you!?" Sully nudged him in frustration with his walking stick, causing Nate to laugh harder. Sully then decided to change the subject. "Where is Elena anyway; shouldn't she be here by now?"  
"She messaged me a while ago saying she wouldn't be long." Nate answered back, equally curious, but then instantly caught sight of her. "Ah-hah! I see her!"  
Elena had stepped out of one of the minibuses that had just arrived to the Terminal. She wore her usual clothes whilst also a raincoat due to the miserable English weather that began to appear. She swiftly strode towards them and raised a hand to wave. Nate sat up from his slouching position and shuffled over to give her space on the bench.

"Hey guys, sorry for the hold up." She apologized as she sheltered herself and sat down next to the other two, completely out of breath. "Do you know where we're meeting this friend of yours, Sully?"  
"I told him to meet here." Sully answered back, continuously looking around for any signs of the guy. "He shouldn't be long now."

Nate, Sully, and Elena continued to sit on the bench in silence, listening to the drops of rain splashing against the shelter above them. Sully continued to be on the lookout for the friend of his they were going to meet, whilst Elena idly browsed the messages on her mobile and Nate slouching back on the seat in complete boredom.  
"Argh! I can't believe how much hassle we have to go through just to borrow a plane and fly to Scotland." Nate groaned in frustration, dragging his body up from the slouch. "What a drag!"  
"This is nothing like what you've got to do for this expedition you're planning." Elena stated out, finding his attitude fairly ironic. "You better know what you're getting yourself into otherwise you should quit whilst your ahead."  
"I know, I know." He sighed, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "However, all I need to do at the moment is to visit Richard in Scotland … but now this has all become such a big deal."  
"Well, you should of thought about this BEFORE going on that stupid heist!" Elena stated as her anger began to rise, although knowing to keep to a low tone in order to not draw attention.  
"I didn't think that far ahead." Nate argued back, turning his head away in frustration.

Sully caught sight of the two bickering, rolling his eyes as he felt the tension between the two rise.  
"Ah, Victor; sorry for the wait. I had just finished off the maintenance on one of the planes." A loud, husky voice suddenly called out right next to the three of them.  
The three of them turned to see a short, plumped old man stand to the right of them. He was fairly bald with a few grey hairs pocking out from the top of his head. However, he had a fully grown beard covering the majority of his face and constantly squinting to the point that no one could actually see his pupils. He wore the usual plane mechanic uniform with a green fluorescent jacket. He seemed to always be smiling although this had been hard to see due to the beard. Sully stood up and shook the man's hand enthusiastically, bending his back forward and glimpsing down as he shook.  
"Oh, don't worry about that." Sully cheerfully replied. "Is the plane all done now?"  
"Thankfully it is, although it took longer than I had first planned due to one of the engines becoming faulty." The man stated back with a nod.  
"Well, at least that's done now." Sully sighed with a relief. "Once again, thank you for allowing us to borrow it."

Both Nate and Elena stood up from the bench, gazing at the plump man with a glare of disbelief from noticing his appearance.  
"And ... are these two with you as well?" The man then wondered, noticing the two step up to Sully's side.  
"That's right, this is ..." Sully pointed to Nate, who just merely waved, "… my Nephew: Nathan. Whilst this here is-"

But the name suddenly came out of the man instead, to Sully's surprise.  
"Elena Fisher!" The man suddenly shook Elena's hand ecstatically, to her own shock. "I would have never of thought I'd be meeting you today! I've watched your programme for quite a while; I'm a HUGE fan!"

Elena was completely speechless, unable to think clearly. Nate hastily reached out and nudged her with his hand.  
"Oh, w-wow! Thank you for watching it!" Elena hastily spoke back in a stutter, showing her appreciation. "I didn't know they showed it here in the UK."  
"Yes! In fact, they run the show on a few channels here actually!" The man excitedly continued on, finally releasing her hand from his tight grasp. "And-"  
"Shouldn't we be heading over to the sea-plane now?" Nate suddenly interrupted with a brooding tone, keeping to his character as he looked very bored under his hoody.  
"Ah, yes we should!" The man suddenly realised, stepping back to see the three in full view. "My name's Hayden Loxley by the way."

The four of them began to make their way inside the Terminal with Hayden leading the party. They passed the entrance and the lobby as other people queued up to begin the process to visit abroad. Nate kept his hands deep within his hoody pockets and slouched over as he continued to walk, making sure people could barely see his face underneath the hood. A number of workers and tourists glanced over towards the group with odd expressions, especially Nate, causing him to feel more uneasy.  
"I've never seen you with a walking stick before, Victor." Loxley curiously wondered. "Has age finally caught up to you?"

Nate snorted as he tried desperately not to laugh whilst Elena gave a small giggle. Sully glared towards them with piercing eyes and beginning to grit his teeth with a sudden urge of annoyance.  
"No, it's just that I broke my foot a while ago and so I just need this for support whilst I gain my strength back." Sully answered with a decent lie, brushing off the frustration in his mind.  
After a while walking, the group approached two guards who stood either side of a door leading towards the hanger areas.  
"They're with me." Loxley stated clearly, gesturing to the guards.  
The guards stepped out of the way to let them by, although glared towards Nate with suspicion as he went past. The group finally reached the open hanger where the sea-plane was situated in. The moment Nate caught sight of the plane; it took a moment for him to adjust his sight. To his complete surprise, the plane was polished up and maintained to the point that it seemed brand new.  
"There we go, Victor." Loxley nodded towards Sully, his beard hiding the large smile that was strapped across his face. "Everything is ready for your use."  
"Thanks again for this; here's your money for the petrol and maintenance." Sully nodded cheerfully as he handed over an envelope of Pound notes Hayden.  
"That's fine, happy to be of help." Loxley stated with pride as the money was exchanged. "Well, I best get back to work; see you again, Victor."  
"Yeah, see you soon." Sully answered back with a wave.

With that Loxley left the three with the plane, feeling safe with it in Sully's possession. The moment Loxley left the hanger, Nate instantly threw back his hood.  
"Ah, that's better." Nate sighed with relief, taking in the fresh atmosphere. "I hate wearing these hoodies, they're a complete nuisance!"  
"It was the best we could use to cover you up so that you would get the least suspicion." Elena spoke back, feeling the need to speak her mind.  
"I still got suspicious looks!" Nate spat back, finding the appearance a waste of time, "I felt like I was about to get my head ripped off by those two guards back their!"  
"Let's just get in the plane and get going." Sully hastily interrupted them, having no time for the bickering. "You should appreciate that Hayden allowed us to borrow the plane."  
With that, they hurried into the sea-plane as swiftly as they could, preparing to fly off without anything to hold them back. Elena leaped in first, then Sully, but Nate halted himself and turned towards the door of the hanger that they had entered in. He began to hear shouting coming from the distance which could only mean one thing: they were found out. The shouting was drawing in closer and louder by the second; causing Nate's heart to race anxiously.  
"Sully, get the plane out of here now!" Nate hastily bellowed as he launched himself into the plane.

Sully sat into the co-pilot seat and began to start up the engines. However, jamming noises began to erupt in the sea-plane's propellers.  
"I'm trying to, Nate! But the propellers aren't starting up!" Sully called back to Nate, hastily trying to force the ignition.  
"Can it work at least?" Nate hurriedly asked, his body fidgeting as his nerves crept up on him.  
"Yeah, but someone's going to have to start it up externally." Sully stated in a rushed tone. "There must be something stuck in one of the propellers!"  
Sully and Elena swiftly turned their heads to gaze straight towards Nate, suddenly startling him. Nate knew instantly that they wanted him to do it, which really pissed him off.  
"What are you – Oh fine, I'll do it!" He roared furiously, fuming that he was voted out.  
Suddenly, just as he was about to rush outside the plane, Elena grabbed his hand. Nate turned to see she had been holding a gun in her other hand, and passed over it to him.  
"It's a Tranquilizer gun, you'll need it." Elena stated him, glaring with a locked sight towards his eyes. "I've got one as well, so I'll help you out. Just … be careful."

Nate nodded back, a determined grin appearing from his face.  
"I have a whole stash of weaponry in this plane, but we'll need to keep ourselves clean for the time being." Sully added whilst checking that nothing else is wrong with the plane. "We're already in enough trouble as it is."  
"Just keep yourself pre-occupied with the plane, Sully." Nate commanded him, appreciating the thought.  
With that, Nate and Elena hopped out of the plane. Instantly after they emerged from the plane, Police officers and Security guards charged into the hanger.  
"There they are!" A Security guard roared out, pointing towards them. "I knew it was him!"  
They continued to run towards Nate and Elena, but were not expecting what would come next. Both Nate and Elena loaded their Tranquilizers and instantly fired shots at the incoming group. Two officers were hit and suddenly toppled over, falling unconscious instantly. A few who were behind accidently tripped over the two unconscious Officers and collided against the paved ground. Nate loaded another shot but Elena pointed hastily over towards the plane's propellers, swiftly glancing at him.  
"Hurry, before we get surrounded!" Elena called out to him, preparing to fire another round.  
Nate nodded and turn towards the propellers. He instantly sprinted towards them and scanned the whole area for the problem; only to find that a spanner was caught underneath the left propeller.  
"Argh!" Nate groaned under his breath, gritting his teeth and cursing Hayden Loxley in his mind. "What a Typical Fool!"  
He stretched his arm in an awkward position and grasped hold of the spanner; he pulled with all of his might but began to struggle with getting the spanner loose.  
"Hurry up Nate! Elena bellowed out. She had to combine her close up strikes with Tranquilizer shots to keep the group away. "I can't keep up with this!"  
"I'm trying, this damn spanner won't budge!" Nate roared back loudly, bearing his teeth as he continued to pull.  
Nate used the whole of the strength in his body to yank the spanner free; suddenly, he finally felt a jolt.  
"Keep her held down on the floor!" An officer commanded. "We'll get the thief!"

Elena had been overpowered and was now being held down by three of the guards, now unarmed. Another three ran towards Nate's position.  
"NATE!" Elena screamed at the top of her voice.  
"Come on ... come on ... GOT IT!" Nate suddenly roared out.  
With the full force of his body, the spanner broke free. Within one swoop, Nate threw the spanner with the force of his body behind him, colliding against one of the guards in the side of the head who had holding Elena down. The guard let go of Elena and rolled along the floor, screaming in agony. Nate then ran towards the three Officers who were about to tackle him. Nate launched himself into the air and booted one of the Officers across the head, knocking him out. A second Officer grabbed hold of Nate's arm and threw him to the floor. But Nate swiftly placed his leg behind the officer's own legs and swung it round. The officer instantly fell backwards and struck his head against the floor. Without a moment's rest, Nate swiftly pointed his Tranquilizer towards the fallen Officer and shot him in the neck. He then hastily turned as the third was almost on top him and instantly fired the shot, causing the Officer to drop to the floor. As he turned, Nate suddenly noticed the two guards who were still holding down Elena.  
"Keep her down; I'll go for this guy!" One of them demanded, releasing his hold.  
"What! Leave me with her!?" The Other roared back, looking towards him with nervous eyes.  
"Come on, she's a girl! What can she do now?" The First Officer shrugged in a tease, giving off a cocky grin.  
The First Officer hastily stood up and turned towards Nate. The Other Guy instantly used his whole body to keep Elena held down against the floor, but had his face too close to the back of Elena's head. Within that instant, Elena threw back her head and struck the Officer in the nose, a huge cracking sound to echo throughout the hanger. The Officer was then thrown off of Elena and covered his face with his hands, blood seeping out all around his face. Elena leapt up and swiftly struck the Officer in the back of the head, knocking him out.

"A girl has many tricks up her sleeve." Elena then confidently stated, glaring down towards the unconscious Officer.

Nate caught sight of the other Officer that heading his way; however, Nate instantly realised that there were no Tranquilizer shots left in his possession. He ultimately decided to leap towards the Officer and use the gun as a club. But the Officer had suddenly caught hold of Nate's arm, preventing the attack. Nate then threw his knee forward and struck the Officer in the groin with all of his might. The officer instantly fell to the floor screaming in complete agony. Nate then swiftly grasped hold of Elena's hand and both ran to the plane as fast as possible.  
"Sully, is it working!?" Nate roared as he and Elena leapt into the plane, locking the door behind them.  
"Yeah, let's do this!" Sully confirmed.  
Sully forced on the ignition and the sea-plane began to move on the wheels underneath. It moved out of the hanger and onto the runway. Nate caught sight of additional Police Officers who had suddenly appeared; but were too late to that them. The sea-plane swiftly built up speed and flew away successfully, Heathrow Airport now falling far away into the distance. Nate sat in the co-pilot seat with relief and panted heavily while he placed his headset on. Elena checked through one of the side windows of the plane, looking out over the landscape and the clouds.  
"That was a close one." Nate wheezed, chuckling away.  
"Nate … we're not done yet." Elena suddenly warned him, her eyes suddenly widening with horror.  
"What are you talking abo – OH CRAP!" Nate bellowed in sudden terror.  
Three, fully loaded, swift fighter-jets suddenly flew into view of the windows; all showing the circular symbols and the British flag on their sides.

Nate instantly felt completely dumbstruck, rising from his seat in horror.

"Why the HELL are the Royal Air Force chasing us!?"


End file.
